Addressing the gathering, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, who chaired the session, stressed the legal and moral right of the Palestinian people to create a Palestinian state. He called on all countries to accept this right and to enable the Palestinians to realize it. Sheikh Hamad insisted that international efforts to gain recognition of a Palestinian state around the world – including full membership in the United Nations General Assembly – must be supported.

The meeting was attended by many senior officials, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Vice-President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton, and Japanese Envoy to the Middle East Yutaka Imura.